Flames of Courage
by Ohagi-chan
Summary: Kaoru has a secret she kept from the rest of the kenshingumi. Will they be able to handle it? Or will she be left with nothing? Please read and review!


**Disclaimer: **I don't own Rurouni Kenshin or its characters. **Nobuhiro Watsuki** and **others** own them. I'm only writing this for entertainment purposes, thus I'm not making any profit out of this fan fiction.

**Author's Notes:** Hi everyone! I know my stories don't really have a spark in it but I try! I know I didn't say you should leave a review for my other story, but please review for all my stories! OKAY PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!

**Flames of courage**

**By Ohagi-chan**

_A foggy haze surrounded her. . ._

'Where am I?' A girl with raven black hair asked to herself.

_Step, rustle, step, rustle, step. Shi-ing, the blade made a barely audible cry as it was pulled from its sheath. _

'NO! No, it can't be!' She yelled shaking her head vigorously.

_Everything became black. . ._

"It can't be time yet? Can it?" She heaved in and out trying to breath.

SNAP!

"Kaoru-dono, are you okay?" He searched her room for anything unfamiliar. He found nothing. Kenshin looked at her once again, this time his face was serious, and was intended to find answers.

Kaoru just looked right through him, as if he wasn't there right now. She snapped back to reality when she felt a firm grip on her shoulders. She turned to look at her shoji again, but this time she saw Kenshin staring intently at her face with a hand on her shoulder.

"K- Ken- shin." she managed to stammer out. 'Oh man, how long has he been there?'

"Kaoru, are you okay?" He repeated.

'Wait he didn't use the honorific. This is so embarrassing, I wish I can just faint. But does that dream mean what I think it means? No it's too soon. I can't just leave them all here. What shall I do?'

"Kaoru-dono, did you have a nightmare?" After he said the question his eyes turned back to its normal amethyst hue.

Kaoru was relived to see his eyes turn back to its normal shade of amethyst. 'Whew, his eyes are back to normal. _Were you fearful of his intense amber gaze?_ No! And why do I have to argue with myself? _Because you are crazy, Kaoru, that's why. _That's it I'm not arguing with me anymore! _Who says this is an argument?_ With you attacking me with cynical questions, and me countering them, I don't know what to think anymore! _Are you mocking me, innocent version of myself?_ No way! Why would I do that?' She smirked in victory.

Kenshin stared at her worriedly. "Kaoru-dono I think you should go to the clinic right now." He pouted slightly.

'He is so kawaii (cute) when he pouts! That can make me do anything in the world! _What about killing people?_ I er uh, no way would I do that! _But what if the Midnight Celestial Dragons arrive?_ _Then what would you do?_ I don't know? But I must because I swore an oath to pledge undying loyalty to the MCD. I haven't told them yet.' "Should I?" She accidentally spoke the last part aloud.

"Of course Kaoru-dono, if you visit the clinic maybe we can see if you're ill or not?"

'Oh yeah, remember Kenshin just asked you something about going to the clinic.' Kaoru just bobbed her head up and down, unable to speak a word for the moment.

They arrived at the clinic.

"Ohohohohoho! Tanuki-chan did you have a nightmare?" She said as fox ears popped out of her head.

'I know she is just teasing, but I love acting that it gets to me. Okay here it goes.' "What did you just call me? I AM NOT A TANUKI (raccoon.)!" She yelled with a vein throbbing on her forehead. 'Wow that was great this time.'

Everyone fell for it.

"Kaoru-dono, remember to relax a bit." He shook his hands side to side in front of his face, with a rurouni smile plastered to his face to complete the moment.

Megumi leaned in next to Kenshin and whispered in his ear, "Ken-san you can relax with me anytime you want." She hinted with her eyebrows going up and down together.

"ORO! Megumi-dono, Kaoru-dono and I must get back to the dojo right away!"

"Well who's keeping you? Okay bye Tanuki and Ken-san!" She turned back to the mob of patients waiting for her.

"Oh great," she sighed in exasperation after eyeing the amount of patients.

Kenshin and Kaoru were walking back to the dojo.

Kenshin noticed Kaoru was grim silent on the way back. He also noticed that her face was dead serious. Kenshin decided to step in front of her.

Kaoru noticed that Kenshin wasn't letting her move. She smiled and replied, "Excuse me Kenshin but you're in the way." She tried to move around him but he just stepped in front of her again.

"Kenshin is there something wrong?" She couldn't see his eyes because his bangs were covering them.

Kenshin used his bangs to cover his eyes. 'Why won't she tell me what's wrong. I'm so angry. How am I supposed to help her if she won't tell what's wrong! Keep in **control**, **control, control.**' He lifted his bangs to reveal amber glazed eyes.

'I sense anger and worry in those eyes. I wish I can tell what's wrong, Kenshin, but I just can't. Not now, but in time.'

"Are you going to let me pass?" She smiled at him.

He still didn't budge.

This time she let her bangs cover her eyes. 'That baka! I asked him multiple times to move. I even asked politely! **Calm down** Kaoru! **Relax**, or else he'll try to do something drastic, like get involved in my own responsibility.

She lifted her bangs to show her eyes. They were a Midnight Sapphire hue.

Kenshin was really surprised to see eyes like those on Kaoru, but of course didn't show it.

Kaoru stared directly at his eyes, making full eye contact. "Excuse me Kenshin, but you are in my way." She was dead serious as he was.

"Kaoru." Was all he could whisper.

Kaoru narrowed her eyes as her patience grew thin.

"Hai." Kaoru said quickly and coldly as possible.

"You seem different." He replied just as coldly.

"How exactly?" She closed her eyes waiting for a response.

Kenshin had second thoughts before he spoke, but decided to tell anyway. "Why are your eyes those of a murderer?"

Kaoru smirked before she answered. She slowly opened her eyes, "Is it a problem Battousai, for a woman to have cold unforgiving eyes?"

Battousai glared at her mocking of his war name, even though he disliked it himself.

"What did you do to Kaoru, fraud?" He stared at her stone face.

'Did he just call me a fraud? If this is how he reacts, what will the others think? Will they shun me out of society? I knew I couldn't trust them. _They're all the same._ I shall wait until my comrades arrive.'

"Hey Kenshin and Busu!" Yahiko yelled while waving and running. He bent down and put his hands on his knees while trying to catch his breath. 'I knew this was the perfect time to barge in on them before they try to kill each other. I know a bit of Kaoru's past, I heard of it when I was in the Yakuza.'

Yahiko smirked. 'I knew being a clueless 10 yr old kid trick would work.' Yahiko looked up to see a pair of amber and midnight sapphire eyes glaring at him for interrupting their conversation.

"Hi! Why are you guys so tense?" He tried to act like he innocently barged in on them.

"Don't lie Yahiko, we both knew you were there the whole time." They both kept their eye contact on the boy.

"If you did know I was there then why did you completely blab everything out? Huh! See you didn't know I was there! Bleah!"

"Now we know, Yahiko." Kenshin replied for Kaoru.

'Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Mind games stink! Hmph!' Yahiko walked over to Kaoru and whispered to her ear, "I know you were part of the MCD all along." He smirked at her knowingly and strode over to the dojo gate and opened it and went inside.

'What? How did he know? Kids aren't as stupid as they were in the past. Note to self:

Make Yahiko scrub the floor until I can see my face reflecting from it

Make Yahiko do 250 swings with his shinai'

Kaoru smirked also and shook her head several times before she looked up at Kenshin with a smile and asked, "WELL ARE YOU COMING IN OR NOT?" She tapped her foot hard. Then harder, then even harder, harder still until she was practically stomping.

Kenshin noticed her eyes went back to their normal shade. His eyes were about to turn back to normal but the thought of her not trusting him, and keeping secrets from him made him furious.

Kenshin walked in after Kaoru went in.

"I'm a bit exhausted; I'm going to take a nap." She walked all the way to her room and then snap went her shoji.

"She's keeping secrets from me." Kenshin frowned. 'I got to keep my anger in control. Maybe practicing in the dojo might help.'

Kenshin stepped into the dojo, when he heard a blood chortling scream.

He immediately ran towards the source, so did Yahiko.

"Kenshin who screamed?" He was prepared with a shinai in his right hand ready to use it when necessary.

Kenshin turned his head towards Kaoru's room. Both of them slid the door open to find Kaoru backed up into a corner, while 10 ninjas in black uniforms with sapphire roses on them had her surrounded.

Kaoru had already noticed the two men at the door gaping at her. "Nakuchi, what are you doing? I thought you were loyal to your leader?"

A man with dark brown hair in a ponytail stepped up. He had the same uniform as the ninjas except it had a red sword going through the sapphire rose. "Ahahaha! Did you still think you are our leader? Ahahaha! You were our leader years ago! I shouldn't even say you were a leader. You were a weak female lying and preaching to us. You are a traitor to the Midnight Celestial Dragons. But the only way for me to be the deserving leader to the clan you must either give up your undeserving name as leader to me or the leader must be killed in a justified act."

"But you don't understand Nakuchi, I had to leave the clan because my mother was dying. Then my father went off to war and got killed. I didn't know what to do anymore." Tears started to stream down her face. "But no matter what I shall never give my name as leader to a treacherous traitor like you!"

"WHAT ME A TRAITOR? Well if you don't want to give your name as leader to me then we'll try to by force."

"ATTACK THE TRAITOR!" He commanded.

As the words spilled from his mouth, all the ninjas dropped down unconscious.

"What the heck just happened here?" He gazed around at all the bodies, slowly backing up as he did. Then he felt a cold metallic sting on the back of his neck.

"You do not know Kaoru as well as you think you do. Leave and never come back to this estate or you will suffer more then sever cuts and bruises."

That was all he had to say before they all left and never came back.

Kaoru just kept staring at the place where everything just happened.

"Hey busu how many secrets do you have?"

Kaoru just kept trembling. Kenshin walked over to her and embraced her. 'Is this a dream? Kenshin is embracing me! Oh my gosh! I hope he kisses me.'

Kenshin tilted her chin up so she can see his flaming amber gaze, filled with want, need, and never ending love. He leaned in for a kiss. It started out simple then it ended in a passionate blaze.

"Eww! That's it! If you two wanted some alone time just ask!" Yahiko turned to leave the two lovers to themselves, but before leaving he added, "Get a room will you!"

"Now will you tell me your secrets love?" He said in a deep low voice.

"Some secrets are best untold." She looked at him with sad eyes.

"Then you will need some persuasion." He replied huskily.

**The End**

**Author's Notes:** Well what do you think? It didn't turn out quite like I planned but oh well! Please review and check out my profile thing. Okay Sayonara!

-**Ohagi-chan**

**P.S. this was an edited version inspired by Giggle Woman. Thanks for all your support! **


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